Sacuanjoche International School – June 2017 Newsletter

As hard as it is for all of us to believe, we have completed our fifth year! This journey we are on has taken some crazy turns and has brought some amazing people our way. One of these persons is Beth McLaughlin, our Director this past year. Beth’s presence alone was invigorating and fun. She implemented programs such as Guided Reading and mentored the teachers so that the program was an instant success. Beth introduced Game Day and played right along with the kids. She is loved and respected by the teachers, students and parents. We will miss her and wish her all the best on her return to California.

Stepping in for Beth will be Tema Gilion, our sixth grade teacher. Tema worked closely with Beth this past year and is well prepared to step into her shoes. Each director brings something new to Sacuanjoche and works at improving our school overall. We are looking forward to working with Tema and to continue growing our school and changing the life of our students.

We would like to say thank you to all of our supporters and those that follow our success. We have some exciting things happening in the coming year so watch for our next newsletter in August.

Have a great summer!

International Family Day Picnic

Sacuanjoche celebrated National Family Day with a picnic at the lakeside park. The teachers arranged games; parents brought food; we had jugglers and acrobats, face painting and a whole lot of fun. This is a yearly event that everyone looks forward to and is a great way to end our year. Thanks to all the teachers and parents for helping to make this year’s picnic a huge success.

The Importance of Teaching Children Empathy

Empathy is at the heart of what it means to be human. It’s a foundation for acting ethically, for good relationships of many kinds, for loving well, and for professional success. And it’s key to preventing bullying and many other forms of cruelty.

Children learn empathy both from watching us and from experiencing our empathy for them. When we empathize with our children they develop trusting, secure attachments with us. Those attachments are key to their wanting to adopt our values and to model our behavior, and therefore to building their empathy for others.

Children also learn empathy by watching those we notice and appreciate. They’ll notice if we treat a server in a restaurant or a mail carrier as if they’re invisible. On the positive side, they’ll notice if we welcome a new family in our child’s school or express concern about another child in our child’s class who is experiencing one challenge or another.

If children are to value others’ perspectives and show compassion for them, it’s very important that they hear from their parents and teachers that caring about others is a top priority, and that it is just as important as their own happiness.

Children are born with the capacity for empathy, but it needs to be nurtured throughout their lives. Learning empathy is in certain respects like learning a language or a sport. It requires practice and guidance. Regularly considering other people’s perspectives and circumstances helps make empathy a natural reflex and, through trial and error, helps children get better at tuning into others’ feelings and perspectives.

Completing our 5th Year

Sacuanjoche International School completed it’s fifth year with a wonderful night of music by the students. We had a special promotion for our three sixth graders and our 11 kindergartners as well as presenting certificates to all students to proceed to the next grade. We would like to thank all or our supporters for another great year and look forward to our 2017-18 year.

Amazon Smile Program Gives to Sacuanjoche

If you have not signed up for the Amazon Smile program, please do so today! With our 501c(3) tax exemption in the United States, Sacuanjoche is eligible to participate in the AmazonSmile Program.

AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when customers shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the Sacuanjoche International School.

When first visiting AmazonSmile, customers are prompted to select a charitable organization from almost one million eligible organizations. In order to browse or shop at AmazonSmile, customers must first select a charitable organization. For eligible purchases at AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the customer’s selected charitable organization.

Please, if you are a frequent shopper on Amazon, we ask you to choose Friends of Sacuanjoche School, Inc. as your preferred non-profit so that we can earn money twith every purchase made. It is easy and costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time. Last quarter, Amazon sent our school $88.52 from the purchases made in our name. Imagine how much we could raise if everyone you and I know signed up!

Thanks so much and please, pass on this information to your friends and family. Every little bit helps to change the life of a child.

Our Wish List for the New School Year

We are eagerly looking forward to our next school year and all the exciting things it will bring. We will have over 100 students between our kindergarten and primary school. As we grow, we find we could use a little help with supplies and teaching tools. If you would like to help, you can order these items through SmileAmazon.com and mail them to the following address:

Sacuanjoche is proud to dedicate 35% of its student body to scholarships for children who otherwise would not be able to attend our fantastic school. We are giving back to the community and creating life long lovers of learning.

In order to continue supporting these children, we need to build up our scholarship fund. For just $30 per month, you are helping to shape the future of Nicaragua by educating the children.

We will be happy to bill you monthly, quarterly or annually. You can pay through PayPal, a credit card or a direct deposit into our stateside account. Help make a difference in the life of a child!

There are several other ways you can help with our Scholarship Program:
Provide a healthy and hot meal….$30 per month
Assist with Books and Materials…$25 one time fee
Uniforms…$35 one time fee

All donations are tax deductible under the section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States.

Denzel, now inThird Grade, has been with Sacuanjoche since Kindergarten. Unfortunately, Denzel’s sponsor is not able to continue supporting his education. Denzel lives with his grandparents who are very involved with his education and want the best for their grandson. Denzel always has a smile and a hug for everyone and loves to practice his new language, English.

From Our Cookbook

Key Lime Pie

Prepare crust and bake for 20 minutes or until brown. Allow to cool while making filling. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the condensed milk and beat until well blended. Stir in the lime juice and lime oil or zest. Add the sour cream and mix until well blended and smooth. Pour the filling into the pie crust and refrigerate. Garnish with lime slices and whip cream.

A Great Gift Idea!

The Sacuanjoche Cookbook will make a great birthday, anniversary, wedding, graduation, Mother’s Day or any occasion gift.

Our Sacuanjoche Cookbook is filled with recipes from all around the world. The recipes are from our school families and our local community. Enjoy recipes from Cafe de Arte, Pan de Vida and more. The recipes are in Spanish and English with pages of helpful hints and cooking terminology. We are happy to ship any where in the world for you and offer discounts on three or more books. The cost of each cookbook is $15.00. All proceeds go directly to our scholarship program. To order your cookbook, CLICK HERE